SPANISH TROT. 259 



Besides, the horse ought to be so intently occupied with his 

 rider, during the entire course of a lesson, that he should 

 think of nothing else ; and the rider should mentally act in a 

 similar manner towards the horse. 



The man, so to speak, ought to take entire possession of 

 the animal, and should make him so attentive to his orders 

 that the horse should not think of anything except what he is 

 asked to do. As regards myself, I take such possession of 

 the horse I ride, that the only idea I leave in his head is : 

 " What is he going to ask me to do ? " 



Certain authors say : " It requires so much time to do this, 

 so much to do that, at the end of so many lessons we will be 

 able to obtain this thing or that thing," etc. This is entirely 

 wrong. One never knows how much time will be required to 

 succeed in making a horse do any particular work. 



Some horses learn very quickly what others acquire with 

 great difficulty. On the other hand, the former are often very 

 unruly when an attempt is made to teach them a move- 

 ment which the latter will learn at once. In breaking, we 

 should therefore pay great attention to the peculiarities of 

 each horse, and should not be discouraged if we do not obtain 

 a result in the time laid down in a book. 



Thus, I have had horses which learned the Spanish walk 

 in a week, and others which required three months with the 

 same method of instruction. 



master, he has only to "show fight." The rider ought, nevertheless, to keep 

 cool, and never lose his temper, or at least, not to give way to anger, beyond 

 allowing it to stimulate his energy, and to make him forget the dangers of the 

 struggle. 



By such faults, the breaking of a horse, instead of being finished, becomes per- 

 verted. The slightest fault which is tolerated on one day, becomes aggravated on 

 the morrow, and is converted into a vice which cannot be cured later on, except 

 by the most severe battles. A broken horse is not a machine which requires 

 only to be wound up, but is a living crealure who continually tries to escape from 

 the "aids" of his rider, and who requires to be constantly kept in the 

 discipline of work. 



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